


The Bride, the Bandit and the Bird

by Superbeans



Series: Kingdom Hearts Minifics [1]
Category: Aladdin (1992), Final Fantasy IX, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 09:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7527112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superbeans/pseuds/Superbeans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It seems trouble follows Sora wherever he goes!</p><p>Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding looked like it would go off without a hitch, at least until an unwanted visitor started eyeing up the presents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“We’re so glad you could make it, Sora!”

The young man had never felt more out of place than right now. From the floors, to the ceiling, to the _people_ , almost everything was swathed in lurid white and gold. And yet he had at least made an attempt to look fancy, scruffily negotiating his body into a black suit and bow tie. While any other person on the planet would look rather dashing in such fancy clothing, Sora… didn’t quite reach that calibre.

“I-it was the least I could do," he grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “After all, you guys’re getting married! I had to be here!”

“And you’re looking so smart!"  Princess Jasmine complimented his attire with a friendly beam.

“Oh, and we got ya a weddin’ gift too!” Goofy stepped into the conversation. About the only one in the building who could rival Sora’s natural unkemptness, the six foot tall dog-like thing had also made an effort, and changed into a white suit – one better fitting the surroundings. Both Sora and Donald had desperately convinced Goofy to get the suit without the tails, however. That would’ve been an accident just waiting to happen.

Goofy was about to hand over their wedding gift to Jasmine – a simple yet oddly shaped brown package – however an enormous, bright blue hand burst out of nowhere, barring his path!

“HALT!” A voice spoke, also from nowhere. “Premature handling of wedding gifts by the recipient is strictly prohibited!”

Both Aladdin and Jasmine rolled their eyes in unison at this ‘warning’, until the giant blue hand was enshrouded in like coloured smoke, only to be replaced with a humanoid.

“All wedding gifts are to be placed in the designated gifting area!” Genie continued in his ‘serious’ voice, swinging two large blue arms and pointing towards an adjacent room. “So if you don’t mind… sir?”

“Awwright then!” Goofy shrugged ambivalently, and waddled over to the side room where Genie was pointing. “I’ll be back in a moment, guys!”

“Sure thing, Goofy!” Sora called back, before resuming conversation with Aladdin and Jasmine, hands firmly lodged in his pockets. “So... why so serious, Genie?”

“You can never be too serious about wedding security, Sora!” Genie’s ‘serious’ voice continued to trail down the hallway, where Goofy was searching for a good spot to place his wedding gift. However he wasn't alone.

“Hmm?” Goofy poked his head around a corner, narrowing his eyes at the suspicious person on the other side of the chamber. “Now who could that be…?”

Wearing a full length, hooded black cloak, this person was browsing through the pile of extravagance, seemingly looking for something.

"Gotta be around here somewhere…” Goofy overheard them talking to themselves, providing further evidence.

However, the cloak alone was enough to send the red flag flying in Goofy’s mind;

“O-organisation thirteen!” He gasped to himself, biting the nails off of one hand. For a moment, he contemplated stopping the intruder on his own, however past experiences with such dangerous criminals had taught him that this was a bad idea.

“I gotta get Sora!” He stammered, and silently dashed back down the hallway!

* * *

“Sora!” Goofy called, standing at the edge of the wedding hall and trying to get Sora’s attention with a lot of shouting and flailing from the doorway. “Sooooooraaaaa!”

Luckily for Goofy, he went largely ignored by the other wedding goers, but the two people whose attention he was trying to attract – Sora and Donald – were trying to ignore him too.

“Know any Silence spells?” Sora whispered to Donald in the seat next to him.

“Just the one…” Donald hissed with laughter, pulling a mallet from literally nowhere and grinning.

“Err... I’ll go see what he wants.” Sora sighed, shuffling out of his seat as quietly as he could, so to not disturb the other guests. “Excuse me… sorry!”

Stumbling out of the aisle, the young man was mobbed by Goofy before he could so much as think;

“S-Sora! You gotta come quick! There’s a-”

“Gimme a _second_ , Goofy!” Sora gasped, finding his feet once again and dusting himself off. One look into Goofy’s eyes could tell him that something wasn’t quite right, but with this much urgency?

“…what’s wrong, Goof?” He asked. His lips were thin, and his arms were folded. Goofy visibly gulped, and bent down to whisper into Sora’s ear,

“Th-there’s someone from Organisation XIII here!”

“You-WHAT?!” Sora yelled at full volume, startling several rows of guests. “But-but that’s impossible! We defeated them all!”

“Well maybe they found more or somethin’!” Goofy cried in response. “C-come quick! He’s stealin’ the gifts!”

“Gifts…?!” Sora was taken aback. What could be so awesome that a member of the all-powerful Organisation XIII would invade someone’s wedding for it? Regardless however, he followed Goofy’s lead, and signalled for Donald’s help from the aisles. Flattening himself alongside a wall next to Goofy, both nodded to each other silently, and peered around the corner. Sure enough, a figure shrouded all in black was indeed taking a healthy interest in the wedding gifts. Pottering about here and there, the mysterious robed figure was definitely searching for something…

‘ _three’_ Sora showed Goofy three extended fingers,  
_‘two’_  
‘ _one_ …!’

“Alright, freeze!” The boy shouted, he and Goofy leaping out from behind their cover, weapons at the ready. The black cloaked assailant flinched from surprise, however instinctively dove into a defensive stance, wielding a pair of short daggers.

“We don’t wanna fight, alright?” Sora attempted the disarming route first. His Keyblade was still raised at the ready, however. “Put those away, and we can talk about this. We don’t wanna ruin the wedding now, do we?”

The dark figure said nothing.

“Besides, you’re outnumbered!” Goofy raised a brilliant point. “So whatever your evil plan is, it’s gonna have to wait! After all, ain’t you bad guys s’posed to take a day off some-”

“COMING THROUGH!”  
“Agh!”  
“Oww!”

Wielding his staff and charging, Donald made his entrance onto the scene, knocking into both Goofy and Sora. Confusion was stirred into the air as Donald looked around for whatever was causing trouble, while the mystery person in the black hood relaxed their daggers, contemplating…

And they were away!

Grabbing something from the pile of wedding gifts, the intruder dashed off with amazing agility, practically bouncing off the walls of the palace!

“Donald…!” Sora groaned, rubbing his sore head. “Talk about bad timing...”

“Yell at me later!” Donald squawked in response, giving immediate chase. “He's getting away!”

“R-right!” Sora cried, bounding back to his feet and charging down the hallways in best pursuit!

* * *

Meanwhile, the hooded figure was already tearing through the streets of Agrabah, a notable distance away from the palace. Foolishly wandering into the city’s labyrinthine streets came with a downside, however;

“Alright, this time we gotcha!”

Leaping out of the air, Sora once again gave the hooded figure a start. Landing on one knee in front of them – and clutching his chest – he gasped. “Y… you’re fast, I’ll… give ya that.”

Goofy and Donald joined up with Sora, however they cleverly joined from the other side of the street, blocking off the stranger’s only exit!

“You can’t escape now,” said Sora, standing up straight and creeping closer to his enemy. “And I believe you have something that belongs to the palace."

The hooded figure looked to the item in their hand – a long, slender thing, not unlike a mage’s staff – and then back to Sora.

“Are you gonna give that back?” The young man threatened, raising his Keyblade once again. “Or are we gonna have to take it back?”

The hooded figure once again armed themselves, however it wasn’t with twin daggers this time. Instead, they continued to hold the staff in their left, and brandished a double-edged sword with their right.

“Looks like we’re doing this the hard way…” Sora grimaced, pacing defensively. The last thing he wanted was to ruin this suit; according to Yuffie it cost a fortune!

And Sora was the first to take a leap, jumping forwards and slashing with his Keyblade. It was met with the hooded figure’s sword, both of which clashed with an awful ‘shing!’

Attempting to force his enemy back, Sora put all of his strength into his swing, however the opponent held strong with just their sword and body position alone. That obviously wasn't going to work, so Sora changed tactics, releasing the first attack and immediately swinging around with a second; a low sweeping strike!

But unfortunately, his agile opponent leapt over the assault effortlessly, and knocked him back with his own blade!

“Grr…” Sora growled, as blood trickled down his arm. “B-bah! Only a flesh wound!”

The hooded figure hesitated for but a moment, a flinch, but Sora couldn't ponder on it, because the split second was over, and he had to defend again!

“Kgh!” Sora gasped, pain searing through his left arm as he defended with his right, scarcely holding his opponent at bay with the Keyblade. Rolling backwards like a monkey, the young man avoided another close shave from the bright green blade, and pivoted off a nearby rock, finally catching his opponent by surprise and landing a hit!  
The figure was knocked down to the ground, springing back to their feet after just a second, only to have to dodge again instantly as a Fire spell was launched from Sora’s Keyblade!

They spun around in the air, once again proving their superior athleticism, but there was one thing this enemy forgot to take into account;

*smash!*

Proving a little overconfident with their boundaries, the hooded figure forgot about Sora's 'supporters’ and found themselves with a face full of shield!

They staggered backwards from Goofy’s assault in a daze, and couldn’t quite gather themselves in time for Sora’s next attack, which cracked them right in the small of the back!

“Ngh!” A voice was finally heard from within the depths of the robe, as Sora’s Keyblade floored them. Dust clouds were kicked up, blinding the three, and the hooded figure rolled out of the way, avoiding a ground piercing strike from the Keyblade.

“Sora!” Donald cried, healing his companion with a Cura spell while there was a chance, and Sora lunged once again. The dust might have been blinding, however he had a vague idea of where his opponent was hiding, and he knew that he couldn’t spare a second!

Out of pure dumb luck, Sora struck his opponent in the chest with the Keyblade, knocking them back a few paces.

“Urggh…” the hooded figure grunted, clearly in pain. But before Sora could chance his next attack, a powerful glow started emanating from his opponent.

"Uh oh..." Sora muttered, stepping away from the figure in black. With a grin practically visible from behind the shrouded folds of their hood, the figure laughed.

 "It's all over."


	2. Chapter 2

Swinging their blade in front of them, the hooded figure ignited the ground. An ominous fizzling sound was heard for just a few seconds, and next thing Sora knew, the earth was being swallowed up by a roaring _wave_ of fire!

"Whoa!" Sora gasped, diving back in a vain attempt to avoid being engulfed by the ten foot blaze!

"Sora!" Goofy cried, shoving the young man out of the way just in time, and paying the price.

"Yaaaaaaooooow!!!" He whimpered amidst the towering flame as it crashed across the ground.

Meanwhile, their opponent relaxed their blade.

"None too shabby." They audibly smirked, leaving a grounded Sora, toasted Goofy and terrified Donald to their own devices. They sheathed their blade, and turned to walk away.

"Agh!"

"Son of a-!"

"What's... going on?" A groggy Sora found the strength to lift his head from the floor. Only to notice his opponent wrestling to remove their black cloak, for it had caught fire!

"That's it, show yourself!" Pain seared through his system as he dragged himself from the ground and negotiated his Keyblade back into an offensive stance. The cloak was eventually thrown to the ground, along with the staff, and with another bright flash of light, a young man swathed in bright pink was revealed!

Sporting a long, thin monkey tail and similarly bright pink fur all over his body, the young man, perhaps in his mid teens, proceeded to roll madly across the ground in an attempt to put out the fire. Glowing brighter by the moment, he bared his teeth as the surrounding light seemed to absorb into his body...

And leave behind a surprisingly unremarkable teenager. Short of the monkey tail, which seemed to be the only constant feature, the boy now had shoulder length blonde hair, which was scraped back into a little ponytail, and a mostly blue attire.

"Urgh! This ain't over, dammit!" The monkey boy growled. A manic glow in his blue eyes, he pulled two daggers from their holsters on each hip, and resumed his fighting stance.

"What, you think you can get out of here?" Sora challenged, raising his keyblade once again as he picked up the staff. "We know what you look like now."

"I don't care!" He yelled, lunging forwards almost _desperately_. "I need that oracle!"

"Oracle?" Sora relaxed his weapon. "What's an oracle? Why's it so important that you'd steal it from a wedding?"

The monkey boy wasn't even threatening any more. Swayed so much by emotions, he was just slashing aimlessly with his daggers. Sora didn't even need to use his Keyblade.

"Just, give it, _back_!" He cried, literally throwing a dagger in Sora's rough direction, "I need it! Else, I can't, _help, her...!"_

His second dagger pierced the ground, and the monkey boy fell to his knees in clear anguish.

"God dammit..." He sobbed audibly. "Can't even steal this one thing. I'd be a laughing stock if the guys heard about this..."

"Why would you be?"

"Why do you care?" He huffed, shuffling away from Sora's genuine efforts to cheer him up. "I can't even catch a canary..."

"Canary...?" Donald was understandably confused.

"Are ye a miner?" Goofy felt the need to ask the only thing vaguely close to a logical question. His only response was a gloomy stare from the monkey boy.

"Look, isn't this the part where you finish me off or somethin'?" The blonde sighed. "Without that oracle, there's no point in living."

"Well, if it's that important to you..." Sora muttered, staring at the innocuous staff in his hand. "How 'bout you ask to borrow-"

"No."

Disappointment tugged at Sora's lips with that instant dismissal of his suggestion. "Fine, then..."

"I'm a proud member of Tantalus. The best in the business!" The monkey boy exclaimed. "Not some... borrower. A Tantalus man always gets his treasure!"

"Except that canary...?" Goofy chipped in, which resulted in an angered growl escaping this new 'acquaintance' of theirs.

"Well, what if we asked for you?" Sora asked, offering the young man a helping hand.

"Why're you so insistent on helping me?" He muttered, reluctantly accepting the hand and shuffling back to his feet.

"Because helping people is what I do. And you obviously need this thing, so I don't see any reason not to?"

And Sora's words seemed to have struck a chord within the young man.

"There's never a reason not to." The thief half-smiled, wrenching his daggers from the ground and sheathing them.

"Hey, yeah!" Sora smiled, raising a hand for a high five. Noticing the monkey boy's lack of a response however, he quickly lowered it again. "So uhh... what's your name?"

"I generally go by the name Zidane," the monkey boy raised a fist to his chest. "But I've acquired a fair few nicknames over the years. 'Oh, you' is probably the most popular."

"Well, pleased to meetcha Zidane," Sora grinned. "I'm Sora, and these are Donald and Goofy."

"Sorry for hittin' ya with m'shield," Goofy tapped the sheath of metal he was holding. "I thought ye was a bad guy, after all."

"Don't worry about it." Zidane dismissed Goofy with a wave of the hand. He had yet to let anyone know how sore his nose was.

"Ugh, Yuffie's gonna kill me," Sora groaned, glancing down at the tattered remains of his suit. With a scorch mark, three tears and a completely missing left sleeve, it was safe to say that they weren't going to get the deposit back. Sora's arms fell in a defeated shrug, and he trudged back to the palace of Agrabah, new acquaintance in tow.

* * *

"You want to _what?!"_

Sora winced. Strange. This wasn't how he imagined things going.

Still in their wedding attire, Jasmine and Aladdin were exchanging stern stares with the keyblade wielder.

"I-it's for a good cause!" Sora raised his hands disarmingly. "He just wants to borrow it!"

"He wants to _borrow_ something he already tried to steal?" Jasmine's tone was harsh.

"J-just..." Sora stammered. "Just hear him out, o-okay?"

The young man shuffled to one side, two glares following him. His replacement was no more welcome.

"Umm..." The blonde scratched the back of his neck. "H-hey there. Sorry about the whole stealing thing. It was just a... a means to an end, I guess?"

"So you thought you'd crash a wedding, rough up some of our guests in the process, and steal your _means to an end_?" Jasmine folded her arms.

"Heyyy, I know it was the wrong thing to do, alright?" Zidane kicked at the ground. "But I'm outta options. This Oracle here is my last shot..."

"...why do you need it?" Aladdin's eyes were showing empathy.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine gasped at him. "You're not thinking of trusting this criminal, are you? We should just have him locked up right now!"

"In a different world, it could be me begging him, Jasmine." Aladdin reasoned. "He's showing a lot of humility right now."

"But he stole from a royal wedding, Aladdin!" Jasmine countered.

"And he's sorry!" Aladdin didn't skip a beat.

"And that makes it all better again?!"

"Hey, it takes a lot of pride to do what he's doing!"

"Pride, Aladdin? What pride is there in stealing your way through life?"

"Living to the next day."

Jasmine's tirade stopped almost instantly, a hushed gasp. Aladdin averted his gaze, and the tension in the room had grown so thick it was practically sentient.

The two newly weds looked different ways. Sora gulped.

And Zidane's dirty boots clicked across the polished marble. "...I'll do it."

Every eye in the room was now focused on the blonde boy.

"Whatever punishment you see fit, I'll gladly accept," Zidane stated. His voice had lost the airy cheer from before. "After all, I deserve everything that's coming my way for this. And the last thing I wanted to do was wreck your marriage. After all, you guys're meant for each other, I can tell."

Aladdin's expression softened a little, however Jasmine was still stony faced.

"But before you lock me up, chop me up, blow me up, I dunno, choice is yours," Zidane said, before suddenly dropping to his knees, and bowing as low as the curvature of his spine, or indeed the laws of physics would allow. "I-I just want to save my canary. Therefore I humbly request of you both; may I please borrow the Oracle?"

And once again, the silence was painful. Jasmine frowned downwards at the young man, sprawled out at her feet with as much dignity as desperation could provide. He was quivering with obvious pain as he kept his body position. And yet the only sound that escaped him was an occasional sniffle. Aladdin and Jasmine exchanged glances, before reading a tacit response from Sora. He had been hoping they would notice his wide-eyed pleas for some time now.

"Ohhhh..." Jasmine grimaced. "V-very well!"

Zidane gave out an almighty gasp.

"I will accept your deal, young man. Your sentence is suspended until you have helped your, uhh... canary."

Zidane literally sprang to his feet, ready to shower the couple with salutations-

"However!" Jasmine forestalled him. "There is one condition, before you go running off!"

"...n-name it." Zidane rubbed at his eyes. The staff was handed over to the him, and he embraced it as if it were made of the finest crystal.

"You... were kinda vague with your description," Aladdin took over. "So we would like a little more of an explanation of what you plan to do with this... Oracle, was it?"

"...that's it?" Zidane balked. "N-no problem!" He grinned, holding the staff with both hands. "Though, if I may, can I show rather than tell?"

"If you must..." Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"You have my sincerest gratitude," Zidane adopted his formal voice once again. He then cleared his throat, and spoke out loud:

"Oracle, I call upon thee; answer my question, wherever your soul may be."


	3. Chapter 3

Several gasps escaped the room as an impossibly bright white light filled it. Shielding his eyes from the sheer luminescence, Sora could scarcely make out an absolutely _humongous_ shape. Hardly able to fit inside Agrabah's royal palace itself, the figure of a colossal woman graced the marble halls.

"You have summoned me..." It spoke, its voice haughty and echoing.

"Y-yes! I have!" Zidane felt his throat tighten. "I have but one question of you!"

"Speak it then." The figure's response was uncaring, almost business-like.

"How do I-"

"What ARE you?!" Donald interrupted, prompting frowns from everyone. Even the light being looked displeased.

"I am the Oracle," it began, in practised monotone. "I know everything there is, everything there was, and everything there will be. I am permitted to answer exactly one question per living being."

Donald, along with Abu, Iago and even Goofy, were all leaning forwards now, seemingly entranced by the Oracle's words.

"Anyway," Zidane sighed. "I'd like to ask my question now..."

His presence was lost, however, to the sight of Iago, Abu and Donald scuffling on the floor.

"Go find yer own Oracle, _duck_!" Iago sneered. "This one was a wedding gift, which means family first!"

"You're no family!" Donald snapped right back, and raised his staff threateningly.

"Hey! I am family!" Iago scorned. "I got my own cushion by the throne an' everything!"

"You're just Aladdin's _pet_!" Donald snickered, meanwhile Abu just spouted monkey noises at the pair of them.

"And you're just some dumb _duck_ that wandered in here!" Iago didn't miss a beat. "So if ya don't mind, I'll be-"

"Can you guys _please_ be quiet?!" Sora cried at the group of animals, who continued to squabble despite him.

"No, they can not." The Oracle's all-encompassing voice answered, and Donald was immediately upon him.

"So-ra?!" He shrieked, shaking the young man by the hem of his hoodie. "You wasted a question! You only get one!"

"And you're all stopping Zidane from asking his." Sora stared the duck down. "So the three of you, behave, al-"

But Sora's efforts were quickly lost to Donald, who simply resumed spitting teeth at Iago. The squawking and shrieking was only growing louder, until

'BOOP!'

And the three were forcefully separated, then lifted into the air by some unseen force. Zippers materialised out of nowhere, and silenced the trio. Floating they remained.

"Huh?" Sora balked. "What just-"

"TADAAAH!" Genie burst out of nothing in a cloud of blue smoke. "Sorry to play _fowl_ , but you three were getting LOOOOOOUUUUUUD!"

A foghorn had replaced Genie's face. It popped back to normal, and the blue man grinned. "Ain't that right Al?"

" _Thank you,_ Genie." Aladdin sighed audibly, while the trio of animal captives struggled in vain to escape their floating prison.

"Uh-uhmm... continue, if you would." The newlywed instructed, in the most imperious voice he could muster.

"Thank you," Zidane made sure to bow in respect. "Ahem!" He cleared his throat with a couple of fist bumps to the chest. "Great Oracle, I ask of you; how do I get my canary to sing again?!"

For a moment, Sora could have sworn that the expressionless hologram raised an eyebrow at Zidane.

"...very well." It muttered, and began to shine even brighter still. Amidst its centre, a projection began to flicker.

"Your 'canary', as you call her," the Oracle explained, projecting a vision with long, dark hair. "Has completely lost her voice. This cannot be cured by a simple Echo Screen."

"I know that..." Zidane grumbled to himself.

"What you require is a far stronger remedy,"   the Oracle continued. "And I will show you, the answer!"

Quick as a flash, the Oracle illuminated what looked like a dank, dark cave. It looked just like any other cave, Sora reasoned with himself, until the silhouette of a monstrous  _thing_ flashed past the 'screen'.

"Wh-what was that?!" He yelped.

"That... is what I've got to do. Simple enough?"

"And once you're done with... all that," Jasmine contemplated. "You'll come back to receive your punishment? I suppose you'll want time?"

"I'll be as quick as I can, your majesty." Zidane bowed once again. "And for your assistance, I'm sure I can get you both Honoured under the Kingdom of Alexandria."

"Alexan-" Jasmine gasped. She exchanged a look with Aladdin, who just returned a confused one, and said. "You bluff."

"Nope! Dead serious." Zidane stood his ground. "See that young woman in the projection? That beautiful, wonderful, _majestic_ young lady? She is Princess Garnet - soon to be _Queen_ Garnet - of Alexandria."

"...very well!" Jasmine huffed. "I'll believe you. You may save your princess, however you must return here once you're done. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, your majesty." Zidane was gallant enough to bow. "You have my word. Once I free my canary, I'm... I'm all yours."

And the loudest silence echoed.

"...welp! It ain't gonna go get itself!" Zidane clapped his hands together. "So I'd best be on my way."

Oracle in hand, the young man simply gave Sora a curt nod, and dashed off out of the castle.

"Wait, hold up!" Sora chased him down. "You gonna be okay doing this on your own?"

"I'll have to be," Zidane said. "Who else is gonna-"

Sora cleared his throat.

"...oh. Yeah."

The blonde boy rubbed the back of his head. "Welllll... you can come along if you want."

"Happy to help." Sora grinned. Plucking Donald from the air, where Genie had left him floating, he joined up with Goofy, and a tacit exchange was made between the small group. 

* * *

"I can't believe you talked them into this!"

"Oh, it's no biggy! We go way back!"

Through the skies they tore, with Aladdin's magic carpet providing a much appreciated lift. On one hand, it did mean sand in the eyes, but it also saved them days, if not _weeks_ of travel!

"These deserts can be pretty treacherous!" Sora yelled against the sandy gusts. "So I used that to my advantage, and- hey Donald, think you could do something about this sand?"

"I can try!" Donald squawked. Twirling his staff, he cast an Aerora spell in front of them all, which helped by not only repelling most of the sand, but also by streamlining Carpet.

"That's much better!" Sora hollered, unaware how much louder his voice had become. The Aerora was still loud, however it was nothing compared to the seething whistle of the sandstorm they were pushing through.

"A-anyway, like I was saying," he coughed. "They're good people when you're on the right side of them. I persuaded them to let me borrow Carpet by saying you could die!"

Zidane gulped. "Ahah... yeah, let's not?"

"And if you died out here, you wouldn't be able to take your punishment!" Sora remained oblivious as always.

"Well I'd rather not die, if it's all the same to you!" Zidane quipped, as Carpet juddered to a halt. "I'd say that's reasona- huh?"

His thief sword was drawn instantly. "Something's coming."

"A-are you sure?" Sora summoned his Keyblade. "How can you tell?"

"How _can't_ you?" Zidane frowned at him. "It's _obvious_ something's coming for us. Even the rug can tell! Oop, sorry buddy."

Carpet drooped in tacit reproach, and the four passengers stepped off.

"Well then, why don't we have a look at what we're up against?" Sora charged up and released a Fira spell into the distance.

"What'd you do that for?! You'll show 'em exactly where we are!" Zidane throttled him.

"Hey hey, if they're already coming for us, it doesn't matter!" Sora stood his ground. "Besides, at least this way we can kinda see th-"

He gulped. "Uh oh..."

Goofy raised his shield, and Donald predictably started panicking.

"Aw crud," Zidane sighed, and span around to follow Sora's gaze. The brunet grinned,

"Looks like we're getting our just desserts!"


	4. Chapter 4

"That pun was terrible!" Zidane grimaced at Sora.

"Yeah it was!" laughed Sora, with his keyblade at the ready. "Okay, you do short range attacks, am I right?"

"Wait, we're having a pep talk _now_?" Zidane balked.

"Oh sorry, should I wait til _after_ we're potentially beaten to a pulp by this endless horde of Heartless?" Sora grinned impishly back at him.

"Fair point..." Zidane conceded. "Yeah, I don't have much in the way of long range. But that's okay! You watch my back, I'll watch yours!"

And the siege had begun. Four allies formed a defensive position, encircled amidst the endless sand and Heartless. The sandstorm was so thick it practically blocked out the sunlight, and made things all that much harder to see, but at least it stopped them from getting too hot. Small victories?

"Question!" Zidane huffed, swiping a Largebody's feet from beneath it. "What do you call these things again?"

"Heartless!" Sora knocked a Blue Rhapsody to the floor.

"Uh huh..." Zidane launched the same Largebody, where it scuttled into several others like a bowling ball, knocking over everything in its path. "But where's the mist?"

"Mist?" Sora ducked out of the way as a Sky Knight soared overhead. "Whaddya mean? There's no mist here! Only sand!"

"L-like none none? None at all??" The blonde was stunned. "Then how do these Heartless things form?"

"That's a long story!" Sora had locked blades with a bandit heartless. "I'll explain later??"

"Alrighty then..." Zidane sighed. "Hey!" He pointed northwards. "What's that?!"

Several of the Heartless dumbly spun around to engage the thing Zidane was pointing to, including the one that was troubling Sora. Sadly however, so did Sora.

"Hmm..." He squinted, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sand. "Can't see a thing. What about you?"

The Heartless next to him just shrugged in response. Sora returned to staring, and took little notice of the bright green blade that had just torn through the Heartless beside him, turning it into smoke.

"Well, I gotta be honest," Zidane shook his head fondly. "That's the first time I've seen it work on a human."

"Seen what work?" Sora continued to gaze over yonder, intent on finding something.

"Sora's... a special _kind_ of human!" Donald interjected, knocking a Heartless out of the sky with a well aimed Blizzard.

"So I'm learning," Zidane chuckled. "Right, c'mon you," he slapped Sora on the back. "You're falling behind!"

"Hunh?" Sora snapped back to the real world. "B-but where's the thing?"

"Don't worry about the thing. Worry about those!" Zidane had to leap, and struck down a Heartless before it could strike Sora.

"Aww..." Sora gave up on his pursuit. "Hey Goof! Give us a boost!"

"Awright, Sora!" Goofy saluted him for no apparent reason, and knelt down with his shield pointing skywards. Sora's foot connected with the shield, and a timely thrust from Goofy sent the young man high into the air!

Mid-ascent, Sora swiped a flying Heartless across the face with his keyblade, and sent it tumbling back down to earth. Three more followed, each landing on top of their predecessor with audible grunts of pain. Followed by another as Sora landed once again, spearing all four with his Keyblade and vanquishing them all.

 

"Donald!" Sora cried without warning, and Donald flinched. But Sora then shot a Fire spell his way, and Donald realised his folly, instead aiming a Blizzard at it. The two collided in mid-air to create an even _bigger_ explosion, knocking out dozens of Heartless.

"Wow..." Zidane smirked. "So this is what teams are like, huh?"

"Uh huh," Goofy caught his shield after bouncing it off a Heartless' face. "Donald 'n' Sora'n me've been a team fo-rever!"

"And that'll never change!" Sora wrenched his keyblade out of another Heartless. "Ain't that right guys?"

"You said it!" Donald was in rare agreement, as he showered them all with a Cura spell.

Zidane's smile flickered slightly. "Never changing, huh?"

"Nnnope! Never changing!" Goofy reiterated, oblivious.

"Though we're always accepting help!" Sora gave the blonde a nod at the fat bandit in the distance. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment, but quickly realised Sora's plan, and the two snuck up on it.

"Hey!" Sora cried, jumping up and waving his arms around. "Over here, ya big lug!"

The fat bandit turned to acknowledge Sora's noise, and made a sound not unlike an old train letting off smoke. It took in a deep breath, and-

*shing!*

Zidane's blade hit it right in the back. He sent it hurtling towards Sora, who launched it skywards, "now, Donald!"

Donald squawked, and shot a blizzard spell at the fat bandit, hitting it in mid-air.

"Goofy!" Sora grinned, and Goofy readied his shield again. But it wasn't Sora who was launched into the air.

With an agile leap, Zidane instead jumped from Goofy's shield and into the skies above, striking the fat bandit while it floated and sending it back to earth with a _crack!_

The fat bandit groaned, and dissipated into lifeless smoke, leaving their path clear once again.

"Woo! Alright, think that's the last of them!" Sora cheered, both hands in the air. "Great work, everybody!"

Goofy and Donald just shared a knowing look, and trudged back through the sand to Carpet, who was waiting in the centre.

"Uhh, question," a confused Zidane muttered as he clambered back aboard. "Why didn't we use the carpet here for aerial attacks? Woulda been a lot easier... wouldn't it?"

"Well sure, but where's the fun in easy?" Sora grinned, as Carpet floated itself off the ground once again. "'sides, I didn't wanna risk hurting Carpet. After all, if we get stranded out here we're screwed."

"Okay yeah, you've got a point there," Zidane folded his arms.

"You know it," Sora grinned. "Riight, bearings, bearings..."

The young man glanced around, hoping for a vision of something familiar to enter his line of sight. But his spirits began to drop when all he could register was sand. Sand on the ground, sand in the air, sand in the eyes...

Oh, and the sun, too. Plenty of that. Should've brought suncream.

"Hmm..." Sora frowned at the empty scenery. "Now what?"

"That way," Zidane pointed to their right. To the surprise of all three compatriots.

"H-how..." Sora was aghast.

"It's past midday, right?" Zidane explained. "That means the sun is heading west of us, and it'll be due southwest about now. So if we travel _away_ from the sun, follow our shadow," he pointed to the ground. "That means we'll be travelling northeast. We wanna go east from here, so it's just a _liiittle_ bit more right. Easy enough, huh?"

"Huh..." Sora looked impressed. "That's really useful! I'll keep that in mind!"

"He'll forget it," Donald shook his head fondly, as Sora gave the order.

"Right, you heard him Carpet! Let's go that-a-way!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Whaddya mean we're lost?!"

"I, uhh... wrong turn?"

"Aww, phooey!" Donald squawked. "You said you could track!"

"And I can!" Zidane protested. "I just forgot that we're in the Southern Hemisphere!"

"Whaddya mean by _that_?!" Donald challenged.

"There are two sides of a planet!" Zidane seethed right back.

"Whatever..." Donald turned his back to Zidane. With a huff, he began drawing shapes in the sand using his Mage's staff.

"Ugh," Zidane buried his face into one palm. "You guys still trust me, right?"

"Well, sure!" Goofy answered immediately. "Everyone makes mistakes? Why I'm sure I made more'n m'fair share!"

"Don't worry about Donald," Sora made an attempt to restore fractured spirits. "He's just... short-"

Sora received a handful of sand in the face as punishment.

"Fah! Flmff?!" He flailed the sand away. "Short-TEMPERED! Was gonna say short TEMPERED, Donald!"

"Well that deserves another, ya big palookah!" Donald raged, scooping up another mass of desert.

"Ungh..." Sora groaned. "Just forget it! Zidane, know where we're going?"

"I think so!" The blonde grinned. "We weren't that far off! See those mountains over that way? I'm pretty sure I know those peaks! There should be a big crater thing nearby!"

"Big crater? What happened there?"

"Long story. Anyway, let's head for those mountains. If it starts raining, we're on the right track."

* * *

And sure enough, Zidane's tracking eventually bore fruit as desert slowly peeled away from the landscape, replaced by dusty savannah and then lush grass. And sure enough, not long after they cleared the desert had rain started to fall, first by a trickle and then by the bucketload, drenching the group in seconds.

"Think you can do anything about this rain, Donald?!" Sora yelled over the torrential downpour.

"Nope!" Donald seemed almost pleased to squawk back at him.

"Well, looks like we're on foot then!" Sora groaned. "Carpet can't fly in this!"

Carpet squelched to a stop on the muddy ground, and its four passengers reluctantly got off of it.

"Ah well, could be a lot worse." Zidane shrugged. "See that cave over there?"

"You mean the one that's got death written all over it?!" Sora yelled back.

"Yeah, that one!" Zidane was surprisingly cheery. "I think that's where we're supposed to be going!"

"You _think_?!" Donald shrieked.

"Aw c'mon, I'm trying!" Zidane pled his case. "I only had one image to work off!"

"Quit bein' such a pessimist, Donald," Sora gave the duck a slap to the back of the head, as the small group made their way towards the mouth of the cave.

* * *

"Thanks for keeping us sorta dry, Carpet." Sora shivered at the cave mouth. Carpet proceeded to wring itself dry, and four companions were left standing at the cave's entrance, with little clue what to actually do.

"So I take it we go inside?" He nudged Zidane.

"Guess so," Zidane shrugged. "But I've been through this place dozens of times, and never found any mystical, voice restoring treasures. So I'm not sure exactly what we're after..."

"Hmm," Sora raised a pensive hand to his chin. "Well, in the past I've learned, whenever you want something valuable, there's always some guardian beast or something protecting it. We beat that up, and bingo, you get your treasure. That Oracle lady showed us something similar... too?"

"Beat up?" Zidane looked at him as though he'd gone quite mad. "You wanna 'beat up' Lord Gizamaluke? Symbol of hope and prosperity to the proud Burmecians?"

"Will... that get you the thing?"

"W-well maybe!" Zidane stammered. "But you're missing the point! This thing is a revered protector! Kids leave it seashells as offerings, for Chocobo's sake! It even officiates marriages, somehow! We can't just go and kill it! All hell'd break loose!"

"Got any better ideas?!" A still-dripping-wet Donald flailed at him.

"...guess not," Zidane sighed. "Alright fine, we fight the thing! Just... let's try not to kill it, okay? I've already got a bad rap with the Burmecians as is..."

"Can I ask... why?" Sora frowned.

"Long story," Zidane grimaced. "The same, long story. Before you ask."

The blonde ran his hand against a nearby wall, his fingers searching the smooth rock. A short knob met his thumb, and he pressed it into the rock wall. It sunk in, twisted, and unveiled a hidden entrance!

"Wow, you really do know your way around..." Sora gawped.

"Pff, this is nothing. Rule number one about treasure hunting is to find all the secret hidey holes. Good for stashing stuff, even better for ambushes. And seeing as we're about to take on a demigod..." he gulped. "We're gonna need as much surprise value as we can get. I take it you're all prepared?"

"Ready as we'll ever be?" Sora said.

"Good. Cause this guy is no joke," Zidane advised. "Odds are it'll be tough work even getting there."

And no sooner had he spoke that a large, semi-serpentine creature burst out of nowhere. With an eerie, chilling laugh, the ten foot long monstrosity brandished two short daggers in its hands, and had the small party of four frozen where they stood.

"...see what I mean?" Zidane groaned as he drew his own daggers.

"It doesn't look that tough?" Sora couldn't hide the quiver in his voice, however, and had to dive out of the way as the creature charged him with alarming speed, slashing with both of its daggers in turn.

"You were saying?" The blonde grinned impishly at him, and the pair were both forced to dodge as another mighty slashing attack came within inches. Sora could've sworn he felt the cold steel graze his cheek...

"Okay yeah, fair point!" Sora conceded. "So how do we beat it?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Zidane cried. "I wasn't kidding when I said this place was a challenge!"

"You never said that!" Sora blocked one of the creature's daggers with his keyblade, however he was still forced to dance around to evade the other.

"I said something close enough!" Zidane quipped, "now, hold it still while I get an angle on it!"

"It's doing a better job of holding me still!" Sora grimaced, buckling under the sheer weight of his opponent. Swordsmanship wasn't even a deciding factor. Meanwhile a muscular arm threatened Zidane simultaneously, the razor sharp blade inches from his face.

"Ugh..." he groaned. "Of all the things we had to face, why this one?"

"It sure is a nasty critter!" Goofy spoke for the first time in ages. Both of the creature's hands were tied keeping both Sora and Zidane at bay, so now was the perfect opportunity. Shield in hand, Goofy introduced it to the Lamia's face with a heavy 'thunk!' that rang for several seconds afterwards. But a deep growl escaped the monster afterwards, and Goofy recoiled instantly.

"Y-yikes!" He gulped. "I've j-j-just made it mad, fellas!"

"Lemme at it!" Donald insisted. "I'll show you how it's-"

"Dunf!"

A simple tail sweep took care of Donald, who quickly returned to his favourite position of 'unconscious'.

"Alright, brute force ain't working," Zidane maintained his defensive stance. "We'll need to actually think, here. That isn't a problem, is it?"

"I got a plan!" Goofy volunteered. Shield glinting in the minimal light, he smashed at the Lamia's arm with it, prompting a howl of pain from the beast and freeing Zidane from its pin.

"Go, go!" Goofy yelled, slapping the Lamia's other arm away from Sora. "I'll keep it busy while ya think up a better plan!" 

And with just as little warning, Goofy took off running, the enraged Lamia in hot pursuit!

"Be careful, Goof!" Sora called after him. Goofy's telltale 'yaaaoooo-hoo-hoooo!' echoed through the cave, followed by a tumult of thuds, and a loud crunching sound as something rocky collapsed.

"I'm okay!" Goofy called back, sounding obviously dazed. The Lamia's roar carried once again, and Goofy yelped again.

"O-okay, okay okay," Sora pinched his nose in an attempt to think. "That thing is obviously too strong for close combat. We gotta find a weak spot. Any ideas?"

"YOWCH!" Goofy shrieked in the background, and the Lamia chuckled ominously.

"Weak spot..." Zidane mused, "hmm..."

"Quick! Get me up there!"

"There?!" Sora frowned. "That high ledge? How? Why?!"

"You wanted a weak spot, didn'cha?" Zidane beckoned. "Well, there's a way! I'll bet it can't defend from up above! Quick, gimme a boost!"

"Oh, umm..." Sora stammered. This was Goofy's department. But nevertheless, he knelt down in front of the ledge, and cupped his hands together. Zidane's boot was quick to fill in the gap, and Sora strained to lift him higher.

"C'mon, c'monnn..." Zidane scrabbled for the top of the ledge. "Alright, great work so far! Now, you go help Goof keep that thing busy, and lure it over this way if you can!"

"If you say so..." Sora frowned, still unsure. However he followed through with the 'plan', and ventured over to where he last heard Goofy's screams.

He was found in a pile on the ground in the next chamber, completely out for the count. With the little birds spinning around his head and everything.

"Oh, Goof..." Sora grimaced. "H-hey, ugly! You leave my friend alone!"

Lamia reared its head, and grinned. "Huhuhuhuhuuu~"

A quick Fire spell was enough to stun it for a moment, and Sora's feet made quick tracks as the Lamia made mincemeat of everything in its path!

But walls were a thing, and his brave retreat was quickly halted!

"Uh oh..." Sora gulped. His keyblade stopped one dagger, but he had to jump over the other, and then roll out of the way as the first swung back around!

"Any time now would be good!" He cried, as a dagger cracked into the ground where his head had been seconds ago.

*shing!* keyblade met dagger once again.

*shink!* dagger hit cave wall.

*thud!* A tail swipe had Sora grounded.

"Huhuhuu~" the lamia grinned menacingly. It had two daggers, and Sora was down. Those two daggers glinted in the light, as the lamia savoured its vict-

*crack!*

Bright purple blood spilled as a familiar green blade pierced the Lamia through the chest.

"Huhu, hooooo..." Lamia wheezed. Its daggers clattered to the floor, and it soon followed, crashing with a heavy squelch. More purple blood stained the cave floor as the last of Lamia's life force flailed away from it.

"You called?" Zidane rest a foot atop Lamia's body, cool as ice.

"Lik-like a year ago!" Sora accepted his hand, and scrabbled back to his feet. "What took so long?!"

"Funny way to say thanks," the blonde grinned. "What's the point in saving someone with time to spare? Last minute savings are much better. They build the suspense! Audiences love 'em!"

"Yeah, well I'm not an audience. I don't want all that suspense, okay?" Sora pat a still-shaking hand on Zidane's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy had regained their senses.

"Did, the plan work?" Goofy offered a bashful smile.

"Hmph! I sure showed it!" Donald was smug.

"Yeah, you showed it alright," Zidane shook his head fondly. "So Sora, the monsters tougher here?"

"I'll say..." Sora was still trying to get the blood out of his clothes.

"You know it," Zidane smirked. "Alright, warm up's over. Time for the real thing!"


	6. Chapter 6

The creatures in this cave were strange, to day the least. Nothing at all like Heartless or even Nobodies. Aside from the giant pink death-snake-thing with knives know as Lamia, there were also sword wielding skeletons, axe flailing two legged lizard things, and bugs that made you... mad?

Exactly what kind of bugs, Sora wasn't sure. What he did know however, is that they were loud, fast, and had the annoying ability to turn themselves invisible. But Donald's Fire spells were a reliable means of dealing with them, at least. When he was conscious, anyway...

"Aw c'mon Donald! Get up already!" Sora nudged the duck with his foot.

"I... assume this is normal?" Zidane dug his hands into his pockets.

"A-yup!" Goofy chortled. "Donald's good with magic, but he can't take them hits. An' that's what I'm for!"

"Ahh, typical Mage," Zidane was now busy with his attempt to find a soft spot in the cave wall. "He normally out this long?"

"Sometimes longer!" Goofy 'hyukked', and Sora had resorted to poking the duck in question with a disembodied skeleton arm. Because why not?

Even the birds spinning around Donald's head looked bored. He must've been going for a record here. But caves had no concept of time, so no one could really tell just how much he'd wasted. Anywhere between ten minutes and... two hours?

"C'mon Donald, you don't wanna waste the whole day, do you?" Sora prodded him in the eye with the skeleton's finger. It remained spirally and unfocused.

"Cause we'll have to leave you here if you don't wake up sometime soon."

The birds circling Donald's head stopped in their tracks. After a lot of panicked flailing, and much to Sora's delight, the pair began pecking away at Donald's head,

'taptaptaptaptaptaptap!'

"WAAAAAGH?!" Donald burst awake, scattering feathers everywhere on his mad dash about the chamber. Two 'hands' raked his head to rid the pecking feeling, and an infuriated Donald was literally snorting out steam from his ordeal.

"WHY COULDN'T YA JUST HEAL ME?!" He screeched at his compatriots.

"And waste valuable potions?" Sora had to duck as Donald swung his staff.

"I'm not worth ONE potion?!" He hissed.

"We've already used four on you!" Sora protested.

"Well then what's wrong with-"

"Guys," Zidane hushed everyone. "Quiet down a sec and come look."

Sora and Goofy were at Zidane's side immediately. Donald pointedly huffed before joining the trio, peering through a tiny crack in the cave wall.

"What're we looking at?" Sora paid no attention.

"Isn't it obvious?" Zidane quipped from above him. "Our goal."

"That giant thing?!"

"Sshh! It'll hear you!"

Sweat trickled down Sora's brow. For the monolithic beast that Zidane had labelled their 'goal' must've been at least thirty feet tall. And while thirty feet tall wasn't all that big for Sora, who had taken down a hundred-foot-tall Rock Titan, there was something about this serpentine monstrosity that had him unnerved. Was it the cruel fangs? The surprising agility of the thing? Or the fact that it too could disappear at will?

At least the bugs were easily killed. This beast... no. No chance this thing would go down without a fight.

Three simultaneous gulps.

"Alrighty then..." Zidane surmised, watching their 'goal' dissolve itself into the surrounding water. "Who here is willing to help me with Lord Gizamaluke?"

Goofy readied a shield, and Sora simply gave a tacit nod, but Donald...

"NOPE!" The duck had already somehow packed a suitcase -where did even get it? - and was  hightailing it towards the entrance.

"H-hey! Donald!? Donald wait-" Sora began. But ears were deaf, and feet were quick.

"Good luck Sora! I'll seeya when you get ba-

-whah?!

-whublllblllbllah!!"

Despite his efforts, Donald was swallowed up and spat out by Carpet, who raised its tassels like fists. Donald crashed back across the cave floor, stopping just a few feet short of where he started.

With a sigh, Sora knelt down next to the prodigal duck. 

"Look, I know this is scary," He said. "But Zidane needs us, okay? And you can sit this one out if you want Donald-"

"-we might save on potions that way," Zidane chipped in, only to receive a forlorn look from Goofy.

"-and I promise I won't get mad if you do," Sora continued. "But your magic really does help us out. Whaddya say?"

"Well..." Donald was staring at his feet.

"C'mon Donald!" Goofy was always the voice of inspiration. "Wut if Daisy or King Mickey was in trouble?"

"Then I'd stop at nothing!" Donald burst onto his feet.

"Then can you help us save his Daisy?" Sora shared a glance with Donald, a subtle number over the shoulder.

"Awww..." Donald averted his gaze. "...fine! Fine, I'll help! But if I die, it's your fault!"

"And I'll take full responsibility," a hand on the shoulder. "...thanks, Donald. You don't know how much this means to me, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah..." Donald sighed. "This better be worth it!"

Sora turned a blind eye. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well..." Zidane's tail swished impatiently. "I have fought this guy before, I will admit-"

"You WHAT?!" Donald shrieked.

"But that was just to calm him down, 'cause he'd been possessed by backstabbing bastard clowns," the blonde's voice grew thicker with every new word. "...yes, the same long story."

"...wasn't gonna ask!" Sora's hands flew up defensively.

Zidane frowned. "Either way, we might actually have to kill him this time. So maybe there's a more... diplomatic way."

Zidane peeled away from the rock face and its spy hole. He stretched out his upper body muscles by swerving left and right, and took a few deep breaths... and then stretched again.

"Right. You three keep an eye out, got it?" He instructed, swallowing down the fear that fuelled his heavy heartbeat. "I've got an idea, and it needs to be handled real careful like, got it?"

"...so what do we do?!" Donald flustered.

"Just... trust me, okay?" There was an unusual steely bite in Zidane's voice, and it stopped Donald instantly. 

"You asked for the plan, I'm telling you the plan. So just leave things to me alright?"

Sora have the young man a simple nod, and steadied Donald with a hand on the shoulder. Donald visibly seethed, but stayed put, and Goofy's shield was at the ready.

"...right," Zidane turned tail, and silently skipped down stone steps while his compatriots kept to their hidey hole.

Despite being in the middle of a dark cave, the room he entered was glistening with light. It reflected off the water, marbling on the cave walls, and despite his insistence on a plan, the blonde was hesitant to disturb such tranquility. 

The chammer consisted of an elliptical platform in the centre, connecting via two separate staircases, with two crescent-shaped pools of deep water filling out a cylindrical shape. In the centre of the platform stood a four storey fountain, which trickled serenely and somehow looked both graceful and imposing at the same time.

On the fountain's outer rim... seashells. A hint.

Thankfully, a thief always comes prepared. Into his pockets he searched, and out came all manner of things. Lock picks, what looked like an overgrown walnut, an energy bar, several brightly coloured feathers, a scrap of paper...

which was promptly stuffed back into the pocket. Zidane cursed under his breath, and continued rootling, finally extracting a seashell not unlike the others on the fountain.

The other seashells were full of water. But from where? The fountain or the pools?

After a moment's thought, he dipped the shell into the pool. Because why would someone take away from the thing they were offering to?

Like its predecessors, the shell was carefully placed on the rim

of the fountain. Zidane noffed to himself, satisfied with his positioning, and sat on the cold cave floor with his legs crossed and palms together. Nose touched fingertips, and suddenly he was all serious and foreboding. Eyes closed, lips bouncing in inaudible prayer, he donated to the peace and balance of the room.

'C'mon!' Sora mouthed to his team-mates, and the three of them crept down the stairs to get a better look.

Zidane took in a heavy breath. His left hand held a small length of chalk, while the other touched at his lips. The finger traced down, then towards Sora and the gang, and finally towards the archway opposite. His hands met again, and broke the chalk into two pieces.

Which were dropped into the shell.

"Oh Gizamaluke, holy vessel, hear mine prayer," Zidane finally spoke aloud. His voice, echoing throughout the chamber, was barely even sounding human, however he continued chanting, and remained unmoving, as the inexplicable light source of the room grew ever brighter.

The flow of the fountain began to swell, creating tiny rainbows as it reflected the now painfully bright light. Dancing higher and higher into the air, it looked like these little droplets of water were almost taking a distinct shape...

And then it growled.

The bright light was blocked out as the reptilian beast formed. Droplets of water soon melted into scales, and claws, and teeth, and eyes...

But still, Zidane did not budge. Or even speak.

Sora could feel his heart in his throat as the young man merely sat before this enormous, monstrous beast. Its claws could have ended his life in moments if it chose, and yet Zidane didn't flinch. Instead, the two merely locked gazes.

'What's going on?!' Donald flailed up at Sora under his breath. 'He's gonna get killed!'

Sora's hands attempted to quell the duck, 'Just a bit longer!'

'But I-' Donald lost a few feathers,  as the beast Zidane was facing procured a glowing something. Seemingly made of light and not much else, the enormous reptile levitated its creation before the blonde. His eyes lit up, and he ghost of a smile touched at his lips. But he wasn't reaching out to grab it. Not just yet, any-

"WHAH?!"

"Yaaaoow!"

"You guyyyys...!"

 

Gizamaluke's gift disappeared. With a wall-shaking roar, it left Zidane with his head buried in his hands, and instead lunged for the creatures that disturbed it.

"Look out!" Goofy shoved Donald out of the way, and had his shield in place just in time for sharpened claws to rake at it. Sparks flashed off of the shield as Gizamaluke slashed one, two, three times at it!

"God dammit..." Zidane dragged himself back to his feet. "You guys couldn't've picked a worse time!"

"Blame Goofy!" Donald squawked, as Goofy struggled to push the giant lizard back. 

"Well I'm blaming all of you, 'cause now we've got to do this the hard way!" Zidane grimaced. Daggers at the ready, he took a leap, and buried one into the creature's scales.

"Hyyaaaaassshhhhh?!" It hissed, and reared up in pain, freeing Goofy from its onslaught. Sora took his chance, and struck once, twice with his keyblade.

Gizamaluke snarled. It shook Zidane from its back, and disappeared into the water again.

"...great!" The blonde threw a hand at the rippling waves. "Thank you all, for ruining my one  chance! How'm I supposed to-"

But another roar shook the chamber, and Zidane could only just swerve out of the way as Gizamaluke lunged at him from out of nowhere.

"What the?!" The blonde evaded another cleave with a monkey roll. "The thing can teleport through the damn water!"

And as much as he would've loved to admit it, two daggers could not defend against three separate vantage points. "Well what're you waiting for?! Plan B already!"

The legion of three joined him, front and centre, as an invisible Gizamaluke lurked amidst the waves.

"Alright, four of us, four corners?!" Zidane took point.

"No corners on a circle!" Sora was always willing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"Alright smartass! Just defend it 'til we can figure out an attack pattern!"

From the opposite corner, Gizamaluke splashed into the air, and launched an enormous icicle at the group. It ricocheted off of Goofy's quick thinking, and embedded itself in the cave wall opposite.

Gizamaluke took another dive, and suddenly reappeared on the other side, sending a torrent of water with it!

The four were forced to dive out of the way as the tsunami roared past, and before anyone could react, Gizamaluke had disappeared again!

"Are these pools connected or something?!" Sora blocked another icicle.

"How should I know?!" Zidane quipped back. "Wanna go for a swim and find out?!"

"Alright, cool it already," Sora and the others resumed position. A tacit nudge to Donald had the two hatching a plan.

"Thunder!" The duck chanted, and struck the water with scathing lightning. One side of the pools lit up and another roar tore through the room, as Gizamaluke burst out of the other side.

"Blizzard!" Sora flurried a thick layer of ice into the other pool, freezing it instantly and trapping the creature within it!

"Guys, go!" Sora shouted, and Zidane took a rebound from Goofy's shield, jumping high above the action. Goofy then kept Gizamaluke's attention, while two daggers were sunk into its back!

The serpent screeched with pain, as one dagger was removed, only to be stabbed higher up. Zidane held on for dear life as Gizamaluke thrashed.

"Alright, good work!" Sora cried. "Donald, give it another-"

But suddenly it all fell silent. Gizamaluke began emanating a weird, pulsating sound wave, cloaking any and all sound instantly.

"?!?" Sora mouthed, his voice lost somewhere in his throat.

"!!!...?" Donald thrust his staff into the air, however no Thunder spell was cast. No anything was cast.

Meanwhile an expressionless Zidane was finally thrown from Gizamaluke's back, as Goofy managed a charge at it with his shield. He slowly got back to his feet, detached from the real world it seemed. Sora flailed at him for attention, but still nothing.

He couldn't waste time wondering what was wrong though, because Gizamaluke had just wrenched itself free of the ice, a cross cleave from it forced him to backflip out of the way!

Sora's keyblade silently cracked into Gizamaluke's skull mid-jump, however their teamwork was falling apart quickly without any voice direction. Goofy had just been knocked away by Gizamaluke's enormous tail, and right into Donald, sending the two careering across the floor without a sound. Whatever this eerie experience was, Sora really hoped it would end soon.

_What was going on?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy april people, here's an update.
> 
> This chapter's a bit choppy, but the general idea comes across, so I can clean it up later. I figured it'd be as good a chapter break as any, given the momentum change and symbolism stuff, so... yeah.
> 
> Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. Feel free to drop us a line if you've got a moment. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Things were worse. Things were a lot worse. Ever since Gizamaluke had released that weird pulsing thing, no one had been able to cast spells or even talk. Worse still, Zidane seemed totally shellshocked by it all, not doing much other than stumble about.

But they didn't have time to figure out what had happened. Gizamaluke still slashed and seethed at the other three with silent fury, luckily sparing the blonde.

Donald was beyond useless without his magic. After all, there was only so much you could do with a big stick as your weapon. Goofy was, doing a great job with his shield, drawing away enough of Gizamaluke's firepower so that Sora had some breathing room. But it was amazing just how much harder everything had gotten without sound.

Another giant icicle rebounded off of Goofy's shield, and splintered into the cave wall, as Donald fell victim to Gizamaluke's tail once again. Sora deflected its enormous claws with his keyblade, but had to shove a still non-responsive Zidane out of the way to save him from getting turned into sushi.

There wasn't a thud as Zidane crashed across the floor, and Sora could barely repel one set of claws with his keyblade. The other set forced him to jump over, and then cartwheel backwards as the first were freed. A lucky rebound off the cave wall gave Sora just enough air time to strike Gizamaluke in the side with his blade, and the beast roared, albeit silently.

A full body slam had Goofy floored, and once again Gizamaluke was lunging for Sora, not even giving him time to think, forget react. Razor sharp claws and even fangs slashed at the young man, whose keyblade could only do so much in defence. Limbs were spared from Gizamaluke's gaping maw, however the cave wall spattered crimson as four sharp claws raked Sora's torso, and the young man collapsed like a rag doll.

Rage misted into the air, as Gizamaluke leered at its downed enemies. Donald was still unconscious, Goofy was nursing a bruised head, and Sora had just choked out a mouthful of blood. His chest a glowing ruby, and his right arm reduced to ribbons - yet still admirably clutching at his faithful Keyblade - the young man spluttered out his noiseless desperation. Two sets of claws glinted in the light of the fountain. Sora grimaced. But something whooshed past him, and Sora dared look upwards only to find Zidane fending the monster off!

Green murky blood streamed from Gizamaluke as Zidane defended with one dagger and one sword. Only now did Sora notice how his other dagger was embedded in the creature's side, which must have been what caused all of the blood. And he was holding onto something with his tail, too...?

Sora flailed out for it with his one good arm. Blurry vision and a constantly quivering tail made things twice as hard, but he eventually snatched the potion from Zidane's tail, and clumsily started spraying at his mess of a right arm. With every skoosh of the aerosol, he could feel a little more strength returning to his body. Breathing was easier, his vision was getting sharper, and he could finally grip his keyblade again.

He could still taste blood though. That was kinda gross.

Goofy wobbled to his feet in the background, and dragged up Donald, just as Zidane forced Gizamaluke back with a combined slash. The great beast staggered, visibly laboured in its breathing, and retracted its claws. Still more blood oozed out of the gaping wound in its side, and the giant reptile retreated back to the edge of the pool. Zidane threatened with his sword-dagger combo once again as Sora wrenched himself upright, and Gizamaluke suni back into the water with a silent splash.

Serenity once again. Really, messy serenity anyway. Zidane kicked at the ground, and sheathed his one dagger. Sora offered, but his high five was not received by the sullen looking blonde. Just a disappointed look instead.

'We're alive at least?' Sora hoped a shrug would put across, and Zidane simply frowned at him instead. He slumped his shoulders, and pinched at the bridge of his nose. Sora offered a smile and a hand on the shoulder. It was all he could do really, wasn't it?

Zidane blinked furiously. His last chance, his only, last chance, ruined. A thud vibrated through his feet as he glared between them, intent on making friends with the floor. He couldn't blame Sora and the others for trying to help, even if they did screw it all-

Huh?

Chunks of ice swam across the floor. Where did they come fr-

Zidane's entire world was shaken as he and Sora were shoved out of the way, and Goofy charged in with his shield!

For Gizamaluke had reemerged. Zidane's dagger was still wedged in its side, but it bled no longer. Worse still were the billion icy needles it was launching from its murky depths. Hitting with enough force to push Goofy back, his shield was just barely able to repel the onslaught as icicles ricocheted all over the place. Gizamaluke flexed its claws once again, and leapt into the air, showering the floor with its razor sharp ice needles. Goofy was able to catch a lot of them, but Gizamaluke's newfound agility meant that the others had to dodge too. And with no direction, voice or otherwise, this meant a lot of getting stabbed by ice needles. And they hurt!

Sora grimaced as two needles chiselled into the flesh of his shoulder, melting away quickly but leaving the pain. His keyblade deflected a few, but as Gizamaluke leapt between pools, quick as a blur, he had no chance of a counter attack. Zidane's monkey reflexes made dodging easier, but three prickles to the back caused him visible pain, and Donald was stuck having to dance his way around the icicles. Big, clumsy webbed feet were not his ally. Between the two pools Gizamaluke would leap, spraying a gauntlet of icicles with each bound, and proving almost impossible to hit. Avoiding damage was difficult enough, but formulating a plan against the thing?

Nope. Gizamaluke was too fast, too unpredictable, too... slippery. Nothing was working!

Sweat slipped from Sora's forehead as an icicle zinged past, missing his gaze by inches. He bounded backwards, and his back met Zidane's, where the two had already reached an unspoken agreement. Their weapons could deflect the icicles... maybe they could just tire it out?

Goofy had become more aggressive with his shield, having learned to fire the needles back at their host, and Donald...

Actually, forget Donald. He was unconscious again.

Sadly though, it looked like Gizamaluke wasn't going to tire any time soon. Icy needles continued to splinter their way past, and their reptilian enemy was just as energetic as ever.

Until it stopped.

Both young men shared a nod together; an understanding. No matter which pool Gizamaluke dove from, charge the thing and attack relentlessly. It was the best plan they had.

But why was everything getting dark?

Zidanes's eyes widened, and he let out a silent gasp before shunting Sora out of the way!

The rough ground punished Sora's tired body, however the young man could only steel a glance at Zidane's fate.

Two three four five icicles had struck him in the chest, and the blonde had collapsed onto one knee.

Hot breath misted into the cold air, and Gizamaluke glared down from atop the fountain, as if it were savouring this whole thing.  And Zidane began shaking. The cave grew brighter, and a bizarre, pink energy started emanating from him. Staggering back to his feet, Zidane exploded in a supernova of bright light!

"Uggghhh! That's it!" His voice pierced the silence at long last. "I've had enough of this! Sora, get ready!"

'for what?!' Sora mouthed, yet no sound escaped his lips.

Now swathed in magenta fur from head to toe, Zidane thrust a hand at Gizamaluke, who took in a deep breath. As a powerful white glow built up amidst Gizamaluke's chest, another energy burst inside of Zidane, and he launched a colossal wave of fire at Gizamaluke!

The heat was absolutely insane, and Gizamaluke barely had the time to react, repelling the flames with another barrage of icicles.

"Now would be a good time to have a plan!" Zidane instructed. "Cause I can't keep this up forever, you hear?!"

Sora flailed, and panicked, and looked around for a plan. But what did a plan look like?!

Gizamaluke was distracted, that was something. Donald was still unconscious; nothing unusual. Could Goofy help?

Goofy could get him up high. That could be useful. 

Sora motioned to Goofy, who readied his shield, and launched the brunet high into the air. Hands reached out, and desperately grasped at one of the two big icicles that were still embedded in the cave wall. It was cold, and slippery, but unlike the reptile that spawned it, this icicle stayed still.

Sora wrenched himself atop the frozen pole, and slippered his way across it. With a wield of his keyblade and an almighty gulp, Sora jumped!

Gizamaluke wasn't paying attention, and nothing could stop Sora's keyblade connecting with its skull!

The lizard reared up in pain, its icicles dissipated, and Zidane's tidal flame roared forwards, consuming it!

"Gyyyaaaaaasssssshhhhhh?!?" Gizamaluke seethed, lost amid the towering inferno. The singed beastie crashed to the ground, heaving and bloodied.

"Lord Gizamaluke... I believe you owe me something," Zidane panted, still in his pink furry form. The beast let out a low groan, and once again produced the small ball of light it had promised earlier. The soft, golden glow pulsed gently as it was passed over to Zidane who, despite everything, looked emptier than ever.

"Something... wrong?" Sora found his voice at last, "h-hey, I can talk again!"

"Not exactly," Zidane sighed, his pink fur finally melting back away, "Just... a reminder of what this means. What it cost. What I've gotta do when... when this is all over."

"Well... maybe it won't be so bad?" Sora was always the voice of optimism. "I know Aladdin and Jasmine pretty well, so I might be able to-"

"No."

Sora flinched. 

"Whatever punishment they have planned for me, I deserve it," Zidane floated the little ball of light above his hands. "So let's just... get it over with, okay?"

* * *

The sky had flushed a vivid, lamenting orange by the time he troupe had reached their next destination. Following Zidane's pinpoint perfect directions, Carpet had flown the four of them to the beaten up remains of what Sora suspected was once a grand city. Atop a mighty waterfall with an accompanying lake that never seemed to empty out, the city and its people remained jovial and unjudging, despite appearances. After all, four people were floating past on a magic carpet, only _two_ of whom even looked human, and the locals didn't bat an eyelid.

"These people are... weirdly accepting of things," said Sora, noting that many of the town's inhabitants were also non-human.

"Trust me, they've seen weirder," Zidane didn't take his eyes off the floating light in his hands.

"Same old story?"

"Yup."

"Gonna tell me about it?"

"Nope."

"Aw, man..."

 

Carpet landed, upon Zidane's instruction, outside a once-luxurious castle. Although it a bit dishevelled and embarrassed now, what with several turrets and its royal crest damaged. At least that's what Sora assumed the giant broken sword in the centre was supposed to be.

"Now you guys stay, alright?" Zidane pointed an index finger at the three of them in turn. "These guys won't take kindly to strangers, and you three are pretty damn strange."

"Aw, so we can't see if it works or not...?!" Sora drew out his complaint. 

"After we came all this way?" Goofy echoed him.

"And risked our lives helping you get it?!" Donald raged.

"Urgh, fine!" Zidane massaged his eyes, "just... behave, you got it?"

"Got it!" Three voices chorused in near unison, and followed Zidane down a bricked pathway into the castle itself, where Donald immediately tripped over, provoking hushed curse words from Zidane.

The grandeur of the castle's interior remained unspoiled, with velvety reds and golds enchanting the senses. Spiral staircases, sweeping hallways and curt exchanges with several passers by had Zidane leading them towards a grand looking chamber, guarded by a heavily built man in old, well loved armour. Both it and his gaze could have done with a polish as his eyes met Zidane's, however. 

"I know, I know..." the blonde sighed. "Just lemme pass, okay Rusty? _This_ time."

'Rusty' frowned at Zidane, frowned deeper at his company, and deeper still at the muddy footprints they had trailed up the stairs. But he groaned, pointedly, and let Zidane pass.

"Sorry you guys. Absolutely no one else past this point," he actually looked apologetic. "Heck, I'm not even s'posed to be in here, so... please?"

"G-gotcha," Sora gave Zidane a nod. "We'll just... watch? I-If that's okay with you, mister...?"

The knight in the doorway gave a deliberate huff, and took up most of the it as Zidane made his way to a dark haired vision at the back of the room. Even Rusty the knight couldn't avert his gaze any longer. Four wide eyed stares accompanied as Zidane offered the ball of light to her. She frowned at it, clearly confused, however it pulsed just the once, and was absorbed into her, bathing the entire room in a soft golden glow. 

"Haaaagh..." the young woman inhaled deeply, and for the first time in eons, light glimmered in Zidane's eyes.

"D-Dagger...?" He could barely talk for anticipation. "Is it... is it over? Can I hear your voice at last?"

"I-" 'Dagger' croaked. "I-I think s-"

But the rest of her sentence was lost in a tight hug.

"Ohh, it's been so long..." Zidane gushed, his eyes twinkling in the dusk. 

"Sentimental fool," Dagger managed a chuckle. "It's only been a few months.

"And every day without your sweet voice was a suffering eternal," he smiled over her shoulder.

"Oh, Wishing Upon a Star?" Dagger's voice bounced in surprise. "Will you ever cease to amaze?"

And suddenly, Zidane remembered that he had an audience.

"This is your cue to leave now, guys," he waved his hand lazily at the doorway. "Yes, you too Steiner. Don't worry, I won't do anything!"

'Steiner' was a much better name than Rusty at least. The man gripped at a holstered broadsword, and stared the blonde down.

"You think me that foolish, thief? To leave the princess unguarded?"

"Well I'll be guarding her, so it's okay." Zidane smirked at him.

"An outrage!" Steiner roared. "What Knight of Pluto would I be, to let a ramshackle bandit like yourself-"

"Steiner," Dagger cut in, silencing him instantly. "It's alright, don't worry. You can trust me, right?"

Steiner crashed to one knee. "Of-of course, your highness."

"Then you can trust who I trust," Dagger gave a wide smile. "Now please, let us alone a while. See that our guests are taken care of?"

"V-very well, Princess!" Steiner's salute had enough force behind it to fell a tree. "I-I shall leave you in peace, and see that these three uhh, guests, are accommodated."

"Thanks for everything, guys!" Zidane called out the door as a fuming Steiner shut it.

Fists clenched, the knight drew a heavy sigh, and turned. "...I thank you, on behalf of the kingdom of Alexandria, for your assistance. I shall make arrangements for you all. Please follow me."

"S-sure, okay!" Sora obliged, and motioned Donald and Goofy to follow after him. Leaving Zidane and Dagger alone.

"I've missed you..." he curled a stray bang of her long black hair behind her ear. "...sing for me?"

"Wha?! Zidane!" Dagger blushed the shade past crimson. "I-I've only just gotten my voice back, and you're wanting me to sing?!"

"Aw c'mon, you can do it!" Zidane 'encouraged'. "For-for me?"

Dagger's cheek dimpled. But lips stretched into a toothy smile. "...alright then. For you."

With a quiver and a shudder, the young lady took in a deep breath,

 

_"Al-*ahem!*-al-alone, for a while, I've been searching in the dark..."_

And Zidane smiled into her back. But try as he might, he couldn't stop that tear, obstinately slipping from his eye.

This wasn't fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello AO3. This chapter will probably benefit from a rewrite sometime in the future, however I'm happy enough with it to let you guys read it. That's the penultimate chapter out of the way, and all that remains is of course the big finale thing. 
> 
> Here's hoping I don't screw that up! :D
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment, let me know what you think, what might happen next, etc. Thanks! :)


	8. Chapter 8

He was lucky Carpet was so obliging. It made the whole process so much simpler. No less painful, but less complicated at least, which was something.

The heavy chains though... not so much. Still, at least he only had to wait a little while. A little while longer to fix everything. It was kind of unfair, but he definitely deserved it, and it was the right thing, the diplomatic thing, to do.

But the waiting sure was hard. So was the heartache. His own, too.

With the moon as his only source of company, Zidane sighed, and made friends with the grime on the dungeon floor instead.

* * *

A weak, wistful sunshine dappled in through the gap in the curtains, as a dark haired young princess rose from her slumber. She took in a breath, and let out a happy sigh, the first in months. For her voice had been restored, and the man to whom she was thankful-

But confusion struck. His presence, it was lacking.

Princess Garnet sat up properly, and rubbed her eyes. For there was no snoring next to her, and in his place,

A letter.

Shaky hands carefully unfolded the shabby address as the princess quickly scanned its contents.

* * *

*knock knock!*

"Mmn..." Sora grunted, a leg kicking out in defiance. "We don't need any more potions..."

*knock KNOCK knock!* it grew louder.

"Nuh..." Something lost between a gurgle and a snore. "No Riku, chocobos are friends, not food..."

There was a rushed whisper, and the creaking of a door.

"Umm... mister Sora?" She cleared her throat.

"What even are moogles...?" Sora yawned, oblivious to the poking.

"M-mister Sora, hello?" An actual shake this time. "It's time to get up, mister Sora!"

"Nyuh!" He awoke at last with a start, half falling from the bed and taking the bedclothes with him. "What the?!"

"Umm... mister Sora?" A voice spoke behind him. Sora wrenched himself back onto the bed and saw, of all things, the hippo receptionist lady from last night. That Steiner guy had escorted him, Donald and Goofy to a cute little hotel in the centre of the city. It was humble, and they were the only guests, but it was the best night's sleep he'd gotten in weeks. Maybe it was the feeling of a job well done?

"Uhh... hi there!" Sora masked his bleariness with volume. "I-is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly..." The hippo lady placed her hands - hooves? Feet? - together. "But there is someone who wants to talk to you outside."

Outside? Who could've known he was here? Zidane, obviously, but he would've just barged in. So who could it be...?

And Sora was stumped. Guessing time.

"A visitor?" He pulled on his clothes. "...ooh! Is it a cute girl with long hair?"

The receptionist's smile looked forced. "P-please, mister Sora. It all seems rather urgent?"

"Urgent huh? Alright, got it." Sora rose from the confines of the bed, and cracked his joints back into place. "Thanks for telling me. Wh-where are-"

"Please, my lady," a familiar deep voice. "His assistance really is not-"

"Steiner." Another familiar voice snapped at him. And silence.

"Umm..." Sora peered around the corner. "Hell...o?"

Before him stood the grumpy knight from yesterday, and the dark haired princess he and Zidane had gone to such an effort to help.

"Oh! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" Sora fell to one knee. "I had no idea it was you who was visiting, your maj-"

"Please please, no need for the formalities," the princess - Dagger, wasn't it? - urged. "I just need some information from you, that's all."

"From me?" Sora frowned. "Wh-why ask me? Why not just ask Zi-"

But he didn't even get chance to finish that sentence. Her skin was white as a sheet, and her eyes were hollow.

"What's wrong?"

The young princess wrung her wrists, and handed him the tattered sheet of paper.

"A... a letter?" Sora frowned. "A letter from who?"

Steiner gaze hollowed out upon Sora's words, and Dagger continued to quiver. No answers here.

"Well, umm..." Sora took it upon himself to decipher the unfamiliar scrawl;

 

_My dearest Garnet, (who's Garnet?)_

_Words could never describe just how much I longed to hear your sweet voice again. I'm sorry it took so long to fix you, the cure was really quite exotic._

_But I'm afraid to say, that everything comes with a price. In order to get this cure, I had to upset some very powerful people, and they don't take kindly to you robbing them. So I'm gonna have to pay the price... whatever it is. I'm so sorry it happened this way, but I have to do this alone. I know not what fate awaits me, however I do know that, for every heavy heartbeat I have left, I'll be thinking of you and your beautiful song._

_Remember the way I was for me,_

_got that?_

 

_~Zidane~_

 

Shaking hands threatened to tear at the delicate paper, as Sora had to steady himself against a wall.

"Dammit... you idiot, Zidane."

"SORA!" Donald squawked from down the hallway. Also clutching at a sheet of paper, he and Goofy looked panicked. "There's a letter from Zidane! He said-"

Donald slipped on a rug that was on the floor however, and slid right past Sora, crashing into a bathroom opposite. The letter fluttered out of his hand, and Sora snatched at it.

"Wh-wh-what? What did Zidane say?!" Dagger's voice had lost all majesty now. Steiner drew himself up to his full, intimidating height, and Sora cleared his throat again;

"Sora. I've taken the carpet, and I'm going to do the thing, so you'll have to make your own way back. Sorry about that. But when a certain princess jumps you first thing, promise me you'll tell her NOTHING about where I've gone. Got it? _Nothing_. She doesn't deserve any more heartache. Sorry to leave you with this, but there was really no one else I could ask.

Thanks for all your help, but you'll never... n-never see me again?"

Two hands clasped at Sora's, crushing the letter in his hands between them.

"You must tell me!" Dagger gasped. "Y-you absolutely must!"

"B-but the letter said not to!" Sora gulped. "And a promise is a promise! I can't go back on that!"

Dagger's expression withered in front of his eyes, and Steiner's only darkened.

"Princess, if I may suggest," his voice was low, and very dangerous. A right hand on the hilt of his broadsword. "We can legally, ahem, subpoena that information."

Sora's eyes bolted. There was no way he could summon his keyblade like this. Not with Dagger holding his-

"N-no Steiner, I'm sure that won't be necessary," she turned away for a moment. Tears had stained both cheeks, and yet this princess still managed to smile.

"I-I'm not asking as the ruler of Alexandria," she blinked several  times. "I'm asking," a deep breath, "a-asking as a human being. One who doesn't want someone to suffer at my fault. So please, I beg of you..."

"Ohhh..." Sora avoided the gaze of her enormous eyes. "But a promise..."

"Aw, c'mon Sora," Goofy stepped into the conversation. "Now I think that sometimes there's promises ya should break. Wut if Kairi was in this sorta trouble?"

And like a lead weight, Sora's resolve was on the floor at Goofy's words. Hands quivering furiously, he muttered,

"...Agrabah."

"A-Agrabah?!" The princess squeaked. "Oh my gosh, that's so far...! How are we going to-"

But then her panicking ground to a halt almost instantly. 

"I-I'll need to call in a favour," her voice was thick. "Please, prepare yourselves for travel everyone. We've about half an hour."

Dagger smoothed her hair down, and wiped her eyes furiously, and then took off down a hallway just as fast as her feet could carry her.

"Princess! Princess, waiiit!" Steiner clunked after her. He drew his sword and threatened it at Sora. "You had best be punctual, peasant! If you are so much as a minute late, I will personally strangle the three of you!"

Steiner crashed after his princess once again, leaving Sora and the guys alone. The three exchanged a glance, and a nod.

* * *

The pale blues of morning had soon been washed out with the blood orange dusk, and Sora was honestly wondering where the day had gone.

Through the sky their ship screamed, a marvel of whooshing engines and creaking wood. Sora, Donald and Goofy had been confined to the hull, merely watching the ever-changing views disappear between them, while Dagger watched longingly out of a window, a thin white cloak guarding her from the rushing wind, and Steiner guarded the entrance to her room, as well as the ten metres surrounding.

Controlling the airship? A ragtag band of 'vermin', as Steiner described them. But apparently they knew Zidane well.

"Uhh... hey," Sora attempted conversation with the nearest, most approachable looking one. "So how do you guys know Zidane?"

"He's our bro," the piratey individual grunted. "And we of Tantalus help our own. Ain't that right Blank?"

The one behind the wheel snorted in response. "No matter how much of a mess they get into. Though when Zidane'll return these favours... yeah, that'll be the day."

"Uh huh..." Sora frowned. That sounded like a long story.

* * *

His chains scratched across the polished marble floor. He hadn't slept - what was the point? - and could barely walk for the weight of them. Guards insisted on shoving him forwards because he was obviously too slow for them. But what was the worst they could do? This was obviously his last mile, his last sunset, his last memories...

"Alright street monkey, listen up," the head guard Razoul deadpanned. "You will kneel before the Sultan and Sultana, you will receive your sentence graciously, and you will carry it out without a fuss. Understood?"

Zidane blinked away his lament. A nod.

"Good. You're at least agreeable," Razoul smirked. 

Meanwhile, Jasmine cleared her throat.

"Zidane Tribal," she spoke, her voice a deathly echo across the empty halls of the palace. "We thank you for keeping your word, and returning to us to carry out your sentence."

Silence. What point was there in saying anything?

"We can also... understand, why you wouldn't want Sora to see this," Aladdin chipped in. Jasmine gave him a sour look, and her husband flailed, "whaaat? He's... sensitive!"

"However we cannot offer you any leniency!" Jasmine buried that argument. "No matter how pure your intentions were, you stole from royalty, and that is as good as treason. So I will ask; do you have any requests before your punishment is carried out?"

"What is my punishment, if-if I may?" Zidane flustered, after seeing the glint in Razoul's eye.

But both Aladdin and Jasmine averted their gaze, and reality fell like a stack of bricks.

Zidane gulped down bitter bile. "...oh."

* * *

An ominous manifesto of mauves threatened across the skyline as the airship chased the last of the day's sunlight, its engines swallowing desert sand and choking out black smoke.

"What is it you guys do anyway?!" Sora hollered over the noise.

"Whatever's needed!" Blank shouted back. "We've put on plays before,"

"officially we're treasure hunters," Marcus added. "But we also do more mercenary type stuff on the side."

"Nothin' too grisly, of course," Blank bounced right off him.

"And sometimes we sing!" Cinna popped up from the engine room. "And speaking of sing, guys, it might be time to start praying, cause she can't take much more of this desert sand!"

"Well start prayin'!" Blank quipped. "Cause we all know Rusty'll kill us even if the ship doesn't!"

"Hey wait, maybe not!" Sora pointed off into the distance. "Look!"

Several pairs of eyes focused where Sora was pointing, and sure enough, the telltale spires of Agrabah hazed into view. Barely visible beyond the glow of street lamps, it was nevertheless exactly what they were looking for, and also a sign that Sora actually could navigate.

"You owe me 50 munny, Donald!" An exultant fist into the air.

"I what?!" Donald shrieked from the other side of the ship. "Aw phooey, you just got lucky!"

"Either way! You can do the thing now!" Sora instructed, and a grumbling Donald cast a seething Aerora spell on the airship, streamlining its path and propelling it through the desert at twice the speed!

"Hold on everyone! This is gonna be a rough landing!" Sora yelled, his body practically leaving the ground from the sheer speed.

"Don't worry, we're used to those!" Blank clung onto the wheel. "Just you make sure you don't screw this bit up!"

As fast as a speeding bullet, the airship shot through the twisty, confusing Agrabah streets, with Blank barely managing to steer the thing around corners. Important looking archways and pillars and things were probably better off not destroyed, after all.

"Ready guys?!" Sora yelled, and three timely jumps had him, Donald and Goofy scaling down the side of the palace.

"Don't worry, princess," Sora watched Blank wrestle with the airship as it screamed through the streets of Agrabah. "I won't let you down."

With a hand gesture, his two partners followed after him, darting between the stone pillars and staying out of sight. Luckily, all the attention was focused on the centre of the room, where Sora's heart thudded uncomfortably upon noticing a certain blonde. On his knees, trailing chains across the floor, he couldn't have looked more pitiful.

But no. Just rushing in there wasn't going to work. He had to trust in the three bandits he had just met, and be stealthy. So he tore his gaze from Zidane and his situation, and instead sidled along the ledge. He, Donald and Goofy soon met up either side of a grand archway, where two guards were posted at the bottom of it.

'Goof, get that one!' Sora mouthed, pointing downwards before wrapping himself around a convenient palm tree and sliding down it.

"B-but how'm I gon' get down there?" Goofy whispered to Donald. It had to be a good thirty metres up, and last he checked, he wasn't much good at climbing.

Donald sighed, and offered Goofy a solution.

"Yaaagh-!" Goofy yelped, however he managed to suppress it at the last second, and fell victim to the gravity, crashing down on top of the guard and silencing him.

"What the?!" The second guard exclaimed, drawing his sword. But before he could approach however, Sora had dropped from the pine tree, and had his keyblade around the guard's neck.

"Easy, easy...!" He grimaced, bringing the guy down as quietly as he could. "Okay, that worked better than I thought! Next bit, Donald!"

"O-kay!" Donald gave him a thumbs up, and made sure he was directly behind a pillar before launching a Fire spell into the sky. Meanwhile Sora and Goofy were able to wrench the heavy wooden doors open just in time for the airship to whoosh past, and a figure in white to drop from it...

* * *

This wasn't fair.

Dusk was rapidly dissolving beyond the horizon, as a strictly nonchalant Zidane stared down his fate. What was taking so long to carry out such a simple sentence, he didn't know.

"Alright monkey, let's get this over with," Razoul drawled, and forced Zidane head-first into the stocks. "It seems as though no one is coming to see you off, anyway..."

"And thank the gods for that." Zidane muttered.

"Hunh? You same something?" Razoul pulled a black mask over his face.

"Just... muttering to myself," Zidane's eyes rolled.

"You might as well tell me, boy!" Razoul cackled, the blade of his axe glinting in what remained of the daylight. "Who knows? You might just live longer! So spill your guts before I do!"

Zidane clenched his teeth to the point of hurting. The right to remain silent was his only blessing right now. So silent in fact, that be could hear one of the guards grunt outside.

"Stuck up til the end, eh?" Razoul taunted. "Do you not want to live lon-"

"Razoul," Jasmine interrupted the guard captain's fun. "Spare the poor man some dignity, will you?"

Razoul cut his thumb on the blade of his axe. "...very well, your majesty."

The echo of footsteps, and the swirling of a cloak; Razoul tightened his grip on the axe, and raised it into the air.

This really wasn't fair.

One of the guards just yelled about something; not important.

Zidane grit his teeth and scrunched his eyes shut. He was ready. He was as ready as he could be.

"Farewell, street monkey," Razoul's voice was heavy and solemn. With one final nod to Jasmine, he tensed, and brought his axe down with a clash!

And yet the sudden, momentary pain of death didn't reach. Zidane continued to grimace, bearing the tension, only hearing the creaking of wood?

"Why, you...?!" Razoul grunted. There was another clash, followed by a swishing noise and a roar of anguish from the guard captain. Zidane dared open his eyes again to find the executioner's axe clattering to the ground several feet away!

 _What... the?_  

His mind buzzed out of sheer bemusement. Jasmine and Aladdin both looked outraged, and guards swarmed. What on earth?

A glance to the side showed a white robed figure standing above him, brandishing what looked like a battle racket, locked into combat with several of the guards!

The robed mystery evaded one swing of a sword with a timely backflip, then struck the same guard in the face with their staff. The guard shook the pain away, only for the stranger to summon an enveloping cloud of darkness, blinding the gaggle!

"Stop them!" Aladdin himself rose from his seat and brandished a sword. Them??

And Zidane felt more helpless than ever, with his various limbs trapped inside stocks as the madness around him ensued. The robed stranger had floored three guards, yet was fighting toe to toe with Razoul himself. They dodged to the left of his sword, followed by a sweep of the racket to rob him of his balance. Razoul lunged, and stumbled, and paid the price as the racket clacked into his jaw, knocking him off of his feet and away.

But several more guards were in hot pursuit, Aladdin included, as the robed figure grabbed onto their good, and revealed her true identity.

"Hagh?!" Jasmine gasped. "No wait, stop!"

But Aladdin had already ground to a halt. Sword arm weakening and falling limp, he and the guards were left mesmerised by the sight before them.

The cloaked princess knelt down beside Zidane. A weak smile.

"You sentimental fool."

Two taps with a keyblade, and the blonde was free to move his limbs at last. Now he knew exactly which idiot to blame for all of this.

"But... but why?" Zidane pleaded. "Why did you put your life in danger to come for me?"

And the smile grew,

"only because I wanted to go with you."

 

And then. Then it was all just too much. Back to his knees he crashed, not just sniffling, but sobbing out fat, rambunctious tears.

"I-I... I was so scared!" He spluttered, clutching onto Dagger's outstretched arm. "I thought I'd lost you forever! I-I mean I was prepared for it, but I didn't really want it! I thought I... thought I could be strong, take the punishment, take responsibility for my actions, but then you came here, fought off who knows how many bastards, all for me, and I-I just, just couldn't..."

"Oh, you daft thing..." she cradled his head, "remember who you're talking to here? Did you ever think of asking for help?"

"Help?" Zidane's voice cracked. "What help? Why would I deserve help?"

"Well it's all very well you crashing a wedding, looting their possessions and injuring guests in the meantime," Dagger smirked, "but remember you've got friends who can help you out when your political endeavours get a bit... messy. Just rely on us a little... please?"

"'Us'?" The blonde finally glanced around. Not only was Sora and his guys here, but the whole tantalus gang too, and even Rusty lurking in the corner. Everyone except Boss, though that was probably a good thing.

"B-but I don't deserve all this...?" Zidane's hands flailed out. 

"Oh, hush," said Dagger. "We've come all this way for you. You deserve it, alright? And you know what else you deserve...?"

"Yes...?"

"Oh c'mon, stand up already."

"Oh, right," Zidane shuffled back to his feet.

"You deserve..." Dagger's eyes glittered. "M-me."

And a new wave of tears prickled. Hot, stingy, clammy, but happy tears threatened to spill, as Dagger loomed just a little bit closer to him.

"O-oh, well damn, uhh..." Zidane itched the back of his neck. "Can we... are we even allowed to do this?"

"Hey, I'm royalty. I can do whatever I damn well please," Dagger's smile was impish and toothy. "Besides, Steiner's on strict guard duty. He won't be interfering."

"W-well then...!" Zidane flustered. "If you're really, really sure..."

Dagger held him tight. "Never been surer,"

And in the twilight their bodies entwined, united by a soft, gentle pressure.

"I feel like I've been waiting all my life for this moment," Zidane sighed into her shoulder. 

"A princess and a street rat..." Aladdin spoke with hushed awe.

It started off as a single pair of hands, clapping slowly and self consciously. They stuttered, and slowed down, but were soon joined by Donald and Goofy, the tantalus trio, and even Aladdin and Jasmine. A hearty smattering of applause!

"Looks like someone finally caught their canary," Sora chuckled, slapping him on the back. 

"Heyyy, get back here you!" Zidane returned the favour with a punch to the arm. "And just how late do you sleep, huh? Had to leave it til the last minute?"

"...but the audience loves the suspense!" Sora could barely contain himself, dissolving into a high pitched cackle before his sentence could take flight.

"Yeah, yeah, steal my line why doncha," the blonde grinned. He returned his attention back to Dagger. "Wanna see something else the audience loves?"

Fear flashed in her eyes, but despite it all, "y-yes?"

And a quiet yelp escaped the princess as strong arms lifted her up high, and spun her around. Legs slotted around him at the hip, and he held her close.

"A super romantic finish," Zidane winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it guys, that's the lot.
> 
> This chapter's a bit rough, and kinda hard to follow due to all the perspective changes, but they were really necessary. D:
> 
> So yeah, hope that doesn't give anyone whiplash. Feel free to drop some feedback if you've enjoyed my work, I love feedback of all kinds, and... yeah. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there. This is the first of (hopefully many) KH crossover fics I'll be adding to the site. I'd originally posted a few on FFN, but they received basically no feedback. So I figured I'd try my luck on a less dead site. And this one seemed fitting.
> 
> Anyway, if you could let me know what you thought, or have ideas about what other worlds need to be in KH, let me know with a quick review. :)


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